


Secrets Behind Forests

by Cant_We_Just_Dance



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Adorable, Character death isnt agnst, F/F, Fluff, Kinda, Marliza, Maybe - Freeform, Soulmates, meet cute, not angst, religion mentions, secret keepers au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 08:16:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12338898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cant_We_Just_Dance/pseuds/Cant_We_Just_Dance
Summary: The keeping of secrets, as a rule, has always been a task handed to those capable of handling it. Some secret guardians were fallen angels, working alongside the bearers of light that they so longed to be once more. Others were humans lucky enough to escape the tight grip of hellfire, but not quite so fortunate enough to find solace in the eternal paradise they had been promised so long ago.





	Secrets Behind Forests

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xxcentaurus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxcentaurus/gifts).



> Hi, this is @jamisahivemind from tumblr! Make sure to comment, kudos, and hang out with me over on the hellsite!

The keeping of secrets, as a rule, has always been a task handed to those capable of handling it. Some secret guardians were fallen angels, working alongside the bearers of light that they so longed to be once more. Others were humans lucky enough to escape the tight grip of hellfire, but not quite so fortunate enough to find solace in the eternal paradise they had been promised so long ago. 

Eliza found herself belonging to the latter category.

As a child, she had wrapped the wind around her smooth skin as she chased after ideas that ran away. Climbing up into the highest treetops, bounding over creeks and streams, twirling and swirling through beams of starlight that chased after her whenever she so much as attempted to stay out past the daylight hours. Ideas, after all, resided in one’s mind only when sunshine glowed and glimmered on the leftover rain puddles after the storm. Or when a person waltzed with imaginary men in the fields behind their home. Perhaps even when a certain dark-haired blue-clad young woman (no longer a young girl, mind you) rested her head against the window and close her eyes in the hope of surrounding herself in memories of exactly what the outdoors smelt like after lightning and thunder.

One night, however, on an evening where the ballroom was all too crowded, and her petticoats stuck to her legs like seaweed tangling around one’s foot and dragging them down to the depths of the ocean, Eliza picked up her heavy skirts and ran. Away from the music, far away from the suitors that cased after her like the ideas she had chased after in her childhood, far far away from her dearest Angelica’s smile that seemed all too forceful. Her dress tore halfway to shreds as she traversed through rosebushes and past brambles and thorny bits of nature. Moonlight shone iridescent on her, casting a shadow on her not unlike a vision of her scattered bits of soul that had been left behind in the forests. It intertwined itself with every bit of earth below it before parting with the murmured kiss of hasty footsteps.

But Eliza was not seeking her soulless shadow as it found the shards of broken glass that had once formed her heart that now beat coldly in her chest. Instead, a smile only formed on her face as she caught a faint glimpse of what she hadn’t entirely known she was seeking. It was there, in the top branches of a tree taller than any she had ever dared climb up. Shimmering like an emerald amongst aventurine leaves cloaked in the heavy lace of midnight, it sat at the very edge of a branch, almost taunting her, teasing her. Waiting for her.

Not at all willing to leave another moment to waste away and wilt in a dead flower that could have blossomed into beauty, Eliza ran toward the tree and began to climb. After only a few seconds of attempt, she kicked off her shoes, well aware that they would not aid her in her task- she had always had better luck barefoot, anyways. The bark was scratchy below her hands, smelling heavily of firewood and the faintest hints of smoke, likely from the chimneys of homes miles away from where she was. Cold air cut into her mouth, like the heavy sensation of a too-strong mint candy from her youth, and set shivers down her spine despite the layers of fabric surrounding her legs.

With a particularly powerful pull, she found herself at the top of the tree trunk, surrounded on all   
sides by branches swaying with her dress in the winter winds. Gripping what seemed to be one of the stronger branches with her cold, shaking hands, she began to climb even further up towards the sky, where stars sang with whispers of the world to come in another eternity. Moving the slightest bit faster, she felt the wind increasing, swirling her loose strands of hair as she climbed to the highest point in the tree.

Slowly, she steadied her feet and stood.

And all too quickly, she fell down to the ground.

In those precious few seconds where she was neither on the hard earth below her and not quite aware that she was falling, it was a rather strange sensation, and one that is unlikely to be replicated in an exact manner. Unless one happens to be in possession of a tattered blue silk gown, with their shoes discarded on the ground, and dark hair flowing like a waterfall in reverse as they met what was certainly to be their end. But alas, how could someone ever perfectly capture the whistling of the wind in Eliza’s ears as it melded together with the howls of wolves up at the full moon in the sky? Or the exact look on her face when she realized that she was, indeed, falling, and there was nothing she could do about it? Such a thing would be impossible.

Eliza reached up towards the branches of the tree that were falling further and further away from her in a matter of half-seconds, but knew in some small fragment of her heart that it was all for nothing.

And then, she let the darkness overtake her mind.

Darkness is quite the peculiar thing, when one sets their mind upon the subject in a focused manner. It is entirely possible to fall into darkness, which would mean that the person in question has fallen from quite a great height and into the dark abyss of nothingness. However, to fall to darkness would mean that one’s heart simply decides that fighting for hope and love is no longer worth the energy it takes up. While strange that such a difference can be made by two letters, two words can also be the cause of a rather large change, or the mark of a significant change. 

For example, if one were to ask when Eliza awoke from her unconsciousness caused by the rather intense fall she had taken?

She didn’t.

Instead, when she opened her eyes once more, it was not the the first few beams of sunlight shining through the treetops that she saw, nor was it the face of her extremely worried sister as she sat next to her in a room with the family physician. Instead, the first thing she noticed was not something she saw. In fact, upon opening her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the distinct smell of a library that had far too many books for the librarians to care for in a timely manner. The first thing she saw, though, were dust particles dancing through a bit of sunlight that shone through from a window that was rather high up on the walls. Standing up as best she could on uneasy feet, she looked around, unsure of exactly what her surroundings were. It was most certainly a library- as much was evident due to the shelves upon shelves of books both ancient and ones still smelling of freshly ground ink. But the windows, although high, showed the same thing- and yet at the same time were not in any way similar.

The window to her farthest left showed a quiet valley, with tall grasses swaying in the winds, and a blue sky above the yellowed plants, stretching on for forever. However, the window directly next to that one showed the deep blue of the ocean and nothing more, occasional bubbles of air floating to the top and out of her line of vision. Panes of glass stretched on for farther back into the library than she could see, much less even comprehend. So, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, she took a step forward and began walking through the labyrinth of a library.

Each segment of the building she passed did not cause her pain, nor did it give an ache to her muscles- instead, it made her heart beat just the slightest bit faster, her footsteps a tad more urgent, and her mind all too alert. Which was probably why she nearly jumped in surprise and shock when she heard a soft, low voice from behind her.

“What are you doing in my library?” The woman asked, her tone not accusatory, but simply one of curiosity and intrigue. “I have not been expecting any visitors for quite some time.”

Eliza turned quickly, eyes widening in surprise as she saw that the figure behind her was indeed a woman, instead of the monstrous beast she had imagined it to be. “I… I’m not particularly sure why I’m here. I would tell you if I did, ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” The woman repeated, laughing at the words and wiping away a joyful tear. “Ah, if only all humans had the respect for me that you do! But alas, my name is Maria, not ‘ma’am’. And it is of no trouble if you are not sure why you have ended up here. In truth, I do not know how I ended up here either. I simply know that this is my library, and you happen to be in it at the moment.”

“...Eliza.”

“Hm?” Maria asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

“My name. It is Eliza,” She explained, blushing slightly at her own lack of context for speaking her name. “SInce I am to call you by your first name, it seems only fitting that you do the same for me.”

“Well then, Eliza,” Maria began, a grin forming on her face. “I have many secrets to share with you.”

“But we’ve only just met!” Eliza exclaimed, shocked at the other woman’s words- such a suggestion was preposterous! “How could you reveal your secrets to me when I have only known your name for a brief few moments?”

“Oh, you silly girl- they aren’t my secrets at all. But they are mine to speak,” Maria corrected her, taking her by the hand. “Let me show you.”

And against her better judgement, Eliza gripped Maria’s hand tightly and allowed herself to be pulled through the library, past bookshelves and tables stacked twenty feet high with novels with a thousand bookmarks and dog-eared pages each. Maria’s scarlet dress fluttered in the air behind her as she sped down the halls, turning sharply at each corner she found, sometimes dragging Eliza in circles, and yet into different parts of the seemingly never-ending and always-changing library.

Soon enough, Maria skid to a halt in front of a particularly small window, which looked out on a dark forest, with toadstools growing up from tree roots, and canopies of leaves casting loving shadows on flowers that only blossomed in darkness.

“This is where the books of people you love, or were meant to love, are kept,” Maria explained, pulling an emerald green volume off the shelf and placing it in Eliza’s hands. “Go ahead- take a peek.”

“I… How do you know this corner was meant for me?” Eliza inquired, eyes focused down on the cover of the novel in her hands. “We’ve only just met.”

“This particular corner of the library has been closed off for…” Maria began, voice trailing off as her face gained a confused look. “For far longer than I can recall. But when… When you got here… It opened. It is yours. Now read- you have much to learn of secrets, Ms.Schuyler.”

“But I don’t wish to know people’s secrets!” Eliza argued, furrowing her eyebrows. “They are called secrets for a reason, Maria! I would not want someone to know of mine, and so I do not wish to know of this… ‘Alexander Hamilton’’s!”

“I did not at first, either,” Maria replied coolly, smiling at Eliza as she did so. “But sooner or later you will realize that for secrets to be kept, they must first be known.”

“....What do you mean?”

“We are here because we are the keepers of secrets. We read volumes and absorb knowledge of things no one else was meant to know- and if we do our job correctly, the secrets of our people are safe. Now read.”

“...I have one more question,” Eliza replied setting the book aside on the empty spot on the shelf next to her and staring the darker woman straight in the eyes. “How did you know my name?”

“You told me your name earlier, Eliza- have you forgotten already-”

“No!” Eliza cut her off, frowning. “How did you know my last name? You called my Ms.Schuyler, which is my last name. So I shall repeat my question. How did you know my name?”

Maria smiled softly, reaching forward and tucking a strand of hair behind Eliza’s ear, humming softly in content once it was done. 

“Ms.Schuyler, you couldn’t possibly think that I do not have books of the secrets of people I love, as well.”


End file.
